u/solo13508

Source: Thrawn: Alliances #2

"The Sith are reputed to be clever and capable warriors" Thrawn said sardonically.

Rex is back and just as shiny as ever! Been missing him since Bad Batch wrapped up. And speaking of the Bad Batch they just might be a perfect fit for this game too 👀

Going into this book I was admittedly a bit worried that given this is part of Lucasfilm's new "genre initiative" it would place the romance ahead of the Star Wars so to speak but overall I came out very impressed as someone who typically doesn't read this genre outside of Star Wars. Yes, the romance is a central focus clearly but Eyes like Stars still very much feels like a classic Star Wars story with everything that entails, from the Force, lightsabers, familiar planets and characters, etc. I never felt like the Star Wars universe was being treated as just a setting, it is at the forefront and absolutely central to the book's storytelling and you can feel Poston's love for the world throughout the book.

Speaking of which: world-building. Eyes like Stars takes place roughly 1.5 years before the events of the sequel trilogy and we actually get a very good look into what the average civilian perspective is like at this time. Particularly in regards to what people think about the First Order with them at this point basically being considered a bunch of zealots out in the Unknown Regions who no one really understands the true capabilities of yet. And yet we can see as well how First Order propaganda is beginning to reshape people's views on the Galactic Civil War with some people being more critical of the Rebellion while also claiming that the Empire had its positive attributes despite the atrocities it committed. I really enjoyed getting these glimpses into how civilian perspectives in the galaxy are shifting and hope we get more books set around this point that further elaborate on this.

Also there were abundant connections to Star Wars lore all over this book. Plenty of nods to the movies and shows but also from other books and comics as well. I was very excited to see that Eyes Like Stars actually continues one of the loose threads from Charles Soule's Star Wars (2020) comic run. Again, you can really tell this book is being written by a fellow nerd which I mean in the best of ways.

As for the main duo in the book, Ardent and Sian: I generally enjoyed their dynamic. There are some bits of dialogue that admittedly had me rolling my eyes (though again romance isn't really my genre so I can't complain too much) but I found their dynamic and attraction felt like it had a natural and satisfying growth throughout the novel. The buildup can perhaps be a bit slow at times but overall I enjoyed the journey.

All in all I came away from Eyes like Stars very satisfied. The book definitely leaves itself open for a sequel and I would be very open to it. I do think it's worth mentioning that it is rather strange to bill this as the "first Star Wars romance book" given Lost Stars, Crash of Fate, Princess and the Scoundrel, etc. are all essentially romance books too in all but name but weird marketing choice aside, I really enjoyed this book and would recommend it to any curious fans. 7/10

Context: Sian has been carrying around a lightsaber for the entire novel that the First Order is chasing him for. It's eventually revealed that Sian and his mentor believed the lightsaber to belong to Luke Skywalker. And that being the case when the First Order catches up with our main character, good ol Kylo Ren himself shows up looking to collect his prize.

As can be seen in the excerpt he takes one look at it, sees it's not the saber he's expecting, has a typical Kylo temper tantrum, and crushes it revealing a cracked yellow crystal.

The ironic thing is though that despite not being the saber Kylo is looking for it actually might very well have been Luke's lightsaber. As those who read Star Wars (2020) will know Luke did indeed carry a yellow temple guard saber before he built greenie. And not only that but the kyber crystal within was actually cracked by old Nihil droids when Luke and co. were briefly trapped in No-Space, meaning that the saber destroyed by Kylo here actually matches up pretty well with Luke's old saber.

Granted, the saber is not explicitly revealed to be the one wielded by Luke in the comics but it's certainly a very interesting coincidence and for now I'm just going to say this is Luke's saber in my headcanon until contradicted.

Been very pleasantly surprised with all the world-building and lore references in the book thus far. Ashley Poston clearly did her research. For those unaware, Queen Soruna was the monarch of Naboo during the reign of the Empire and even personally got into an N1 herself alongside Leia and Shara Bey to protect her world during Operation Cinder. These events first occurred in the comic miniseries Shattered Empire and for those who played Battlefront 2 you actually play through it as Iden Versio's first mission for the New Republic.

Poor attention-starved little Hux, man never catches a break.

Soule already did excellent work with setting up Hux's defection in Legacy of Vader and Fall of Kylo Ren is only further driving home the point. Kylo managed to turn one of the First Order's biggest victories into what's essentially an unofficial demotion for Hux. Kylo really is masterfully petty, putting Hux in his place with no one but the two of them and Pryde being the wiser to it.

And the cherry on top? The very next scene reveals that not only did Pryde sabotage the dreadnaught, but he did so at Kylo's direction. So Hux has even more reason to be mad than he knows.

Overall an excellent start to this series, really puts the inner workings of the First Order going into Episode 9 in a very interesting light especially regarding the rivalry between Hux and Pryde. Here's to a strong finish for the saga of Kylo Ren!

Soule already did excellent work with setting up Hux's defection in Legacy of Vader and Fall of Kylo Ren is only further driving home the point. Kylo managed to turn one of the First Order's biggest victories into what's essentially an unofficial demotion for Hux. Kylo really is masterfully petty, putting Hux in his place with no one but the two of them and Pryde being the wiser to it.

And the cherry on top? The very next scene reveals that not only did Pryde sabotage the dreadnaught, but he did so at Kylo's direction. So Hux has even more reason to be mad than he knows.

Overall an excellent start to this series, really puts the inner workings of the First Order going into Episode 9 in a very interesting light especially regarding the rivalry between Hux and Pryde. Here's to a strong finish for the saga of Kylo Ren!

TLDR: Legacy is an 8.5/10 for me. There are some pacing issues and I struggled to connect with the main villain however I absolutely loved the arc for Rey as she truly takes her place as a Jedi and a Skywalker with the help of Leia. Legacy is only one step in Rey's journey of healing but one that is absolutely essential to all of her fans.

I very recently finished Legacy and the more I sit with it the more I love it. It's not without some flaws here and there which I will cover but first and foremost I want to discuss everything I loved about this book.

Beginning with Rey. In my opinion Legacy, is to Rey as the (fittingly titled) Legacy of Vader comics are to Kylo Ren. It expands on her on-screen story beautifully, giving us what is possibly the best extended Rey media we have received thus far.

Legacy picks up at a very interesting place for Rey. It has only been a matter of months since she was ripped away from her life of solitude on Jakku, formed a special connection with a man she once considered a monster, and then just as suddenly had that connection ripped away leaving Rey feeling alone yet again and rightfully betrayed. A pain that has clearly lingered as Rey's initial attempt to heal her kyber is thwarted by thoughts of Kylo, causing her to lash out and damage the crystal even more. Already the core theme of Rey's character arc here is being set up very well. Rey has very good reason to be frustrated with and even hate Kylo, but holding on to that hate will only hold her back in the long run. She'll never heal, never be a true Jedi, if she can't accept Kylo's decision whilst still holding out hope for his future.

The fact that Kylo Ren was also the most true connection Rey has made in possibly her entire life also opens up some very interesting questions about herself and her own future, especially in regards to her own darkness. As Luke fearfully pointed out in The Last Jedi, Rey has a clear draw to the dark side, one that is only enhanced by her connection to Kylo. This potential darkness manifests itself in Legacy as the very same "Dark Rey" we glimpsed in The Rise of Skywalker, a choice I really enjoyed with this book. Dark Rey serves as an interesting externalization of Rey's conflict. Rey fears loneliness, her tie to Kylo Ren, and her own draw to the dark side,all of which are struggles which she understandably fears discussing with Leia early on, so Dark Rey is there to seize upon these insecurities, assuring Rey that "we are the storm now", that they do not need anyone else, that there is no need for Rey to flinch away from her own growing power. I also thought it was a very interesting detail that in a vision we see Dark Rey stab Kylo in a very similar manner that Rey herself eventually would in Rise of Skywalker. Rey nearly killing Kylo as she did nearly broke both her and him so I found this to be an interesting piece of foreshadowing. Again, Rey does have very legitimate grievances with Kylo but holding on to those grievances forever will only end in both of their destruction which I thought the appearance of Dark Rey symbolized very well.

Moving on, I also really enjoyed the introduction of the Sith Kalrian Diir and her own thematic connection to Rey. As Diir's would-be Jedi advisor says "you will not find your name in the dark" a conflict that is so poignant for Rey with her own desperation to claim an identity, to be part of a legacy. As Rey will eventually discover, she is indeed tied to a legacy, one that only deepens her fear of herself and her own darkness. But that does not mean Palpatine's name has to define her. Instead she can take the legacy of the Jedi, of the Skywalkers, and build upon it learning from both their lessons and their mistakes so that Rey can become the best Jedi possible.

And of course when discussing Rey's arc there is just no way I can't bring up the appearance of Anakin. Anakin was not a character I honestly expected to appear in this book but Roux utilizes him brilliantly, calling forward parallels between him and Rey that genuinely had not occurred to me prior to this book. Both were created for a grand and mysterious purpose they could not fully comprehend, both were forged by their desert upbringings, both have felt the call to the dark ever since they took up the mantle of the Jedi. Suffice to say there is perhaps no better Jedi for Rey to relate to more than Anakin and he gets perhaps some of the most poignant dialogue in the book as he tries to steer Rey away from his errors. "If there was one simple way to be a Jedi, none of us would fail, none of us would fall." Hiding from the dark or trying to cut it out will only invite it in in the long run. Rey has to face her fears, to "take on the storm" as Anakin puts it.

And while we do know that Rey will indeed confront her darkness directly in Episode 9, I really liked how Legacy handled her conflict for now, setting aside her mental projections of both her own dark self and Kylo Ren, into a safe space within her mind. They're not gone for good and Rey will have to confront them both again but she's refusing to hold on to her hate for them. This is a very clever way to "resolve" Rey's arc within this novel because we know that this is an ongoing struggle for her but that doesn't mean there can't be moments of peace, of healing in between the events of the films. The path to true enlightenment is a long one and here we see Rey take meaningful steps towards becoming a true Jedi. Rey has accepted the darkness within and refuses to give in to it whilst acknowledging that she will someday have to face it again.

Wrapping up the discussion on Rey, I think Madeleine Roux did brilliant work with her here and I'd love to get more in the future. Whenever we inevitably start getting some New Jedi Order stories with Rey I hope Roux is involved to some degree because I think she did excellent work here with setting up the building blocks for Rey to be the one to rebuild the Jedi. (Also worth noting Rey found a bunch of extra lightsabers on Tython as well. Possible training sabers for Rey's future students perhaps?)

Now moving on to Leia. While Legacy is very much a Rey story first and foremost I also greatly enjoyed Leia's role. As Luke points out, Leia is the perfect mentor for Rey exactly because she's not one of the Jedi of old. She chose to live a life in service to others without the Force, something that uniquely suits her to teach Rey as she can pass on Luke's Jedi teachings while also showing her what it means to just be a good person on a more granular level, something Rey needs to understand as she grapples with her darkness. Leia also understands what it is to be descended from a legacy she isn't proud of, which is why I love that she practically adopts Rey by the end of the book. Leia knows where Rey comes from and chooses to love and accept her regardless. And if she can do this for Rey then she can do it for her son as well.

Also the bickering between Leia and Ghost Luke was just beautiful, I hope we get more like this in the Twin Crossroads book next year. I loved those two getting to come together and basically have some therapy for everything they've both endured. I did find it funny too when Luke basically has to recap Shadow of the Sith to Leia because unfortunately she did not read that book, smh, could've avoided all this if she just did, lol.

Onto the characters original to the novel I was a bit more mixed on them. As I'm still in the praise section of this review I'll bring up Gavrin and Meepka being that they were my two favorites. Meepka was just so charmingly adorable throughout the whole book and Gav slowly coming around to Rey was very nice. I thought he had a nice parallel to Rey as well in that they both have a wee bit of Kylo Ren-induced trauma that they need to work through.

Speaking of Kylo, I liked the limited use of him as well. I think Roux nailed his dialogue and mannerisms fairly well (with the exception of him laughing a couple times, I admittedly struggle to imagine Kylo doing that very often at this point in his life). I also liked that even when he's not around his presence is felt throughout the entire book as all of the POV characters have some sort of trauma that ties back to Kylo in one way or the other.

To wrap up the positives section, I loved the extended elements from the Star Wars universe that Roux brings into Legacy. Tython especially was utilized very well. I loved the new locations and lore we get around it, while also referencing areas we had seen before in stories like Doctor Aphra and The Mandalorian. Also loved all the various references to the comics, particularly Age of Resistance.

Now I'll move into the critiques section. None of which come close to knocking the book down for me in any major way mind you but they do bear mentioning:

I do feel Legacy has some pacing issues, moreso towards the beginning and end of the book. Near the beginning, I feel there are scenes that definitely could have been trimmed down in favor of getting to some of the juicy stuff quicker. (Mostly in regards to Brilla Wolstenholme, who I'll touch on more in just a bit.) The ending also just felt very fast, I thought it definitely could have had a lot more added to it. For starters, we never saw Gav find out about his sister's death nor do we get a resolution for Kalrian Diir, both of which feel like massive loose threads (in Diir's case we do know she sadly reverts back to her dark ways but we never really found out what specifically tipped her back over). Also I thought the ending lacked a bit of a "hero moment" for Rey when she fixes the lightsaber. I was really hoping for there to be a moment when she uses it to protect the refugees from the First Order, perhaps even having a brief clash with Kylo. I can understand why the book ends on the scene it does but idk I personally would've liked to see Rey actually use the saber a bit more.

Brilla Wolstenholme was also a very mixed bag as a character to me. I did enjoy her perspective as a sort of lens into the chaotic state of the First Order following the ascension of Kylo Ren. I did enjoy her interactions with Hux in particular as she sort of serves by the end as a sacrificial lamb to Kylo's vanity, furthering Hux's desire to see Kylo removed from power. But in all honesty most of the time when I was reading her chapters, I was really just wanting to be back on Tython with our heroes. I struggled to connect with her the same way I did most of the book's other characters and by the time her story wrapped up I just wasn't really sure what she added to the whole thing.

And my last "critique" is admittedly more of a nitpick on my part but I do feel the need to mention it. Where is Rose? Ok, she's in the beginning a little bit but this really feels like a story that should've involved her more being that many of the refugees are fellow survivors from the Otomok system, seeking vengeance on the First Order. It feels like a subplot that's almost tailor-made to include Rose yet she doesn't get to be involved. One of my main frustrations with post Episode 8 sequel stories has been that Rose just gets benched for so many of these big Resistance missions, with Legacy being yet another unfortunate instance. Again, I'm aware that this is more of a nitpick so it's not going to affect my overall outlook on the book too much.

Overall though, an absolutely fantastic and beautiful novel. Hopefully the first of many Star Wars books to come from Madeleine Roux. I'm going to score this one an 8.5/10.

Despite the overall lack of comics lately I have generally enjoyed what little we have gotten (The Bad Batch: Rogue Agents and The High Republic: Pathfinders being the main highlights) but Fall of Kylo Ren is honestly the most hyped I've been in a long time, probably since Legacy of Vader wrapped up fittingly. Fingers crossed we get a strong finish for the saga of Kylo Ren.

Also if Tava Ren dies I'm having a Kylo level crash out.

I liked Legacy from the very beginning of the book but as I've reached the second half it is just hitting harder and harder with this perhaps being one of my favorite scenes so far.

Anakin reaching out to Rey is such a poignant moment because he can relate to her struggle more than anyone besides possibly Ben Solo. Created for a grand purpose he didn't understand, raised in a brutal desert, the darkness whispering in his ear from the moment he became a Jedi. Suffice to say Anakin knows what Rey is going through better than most. Anakin of course fell to the darkness when his pivotal moment came so now here he is trying to steer another Jedi away from his own fate. Man, I wish they got Hayden Christensen to film a scene like this for the sequels, he and Daisy would've absolutely crushed it together.

I also liked the sad touch of Anakin's brief compliment to Leia. I think he's clearly proud of his daughter but just knows that he can't appear before her. Despite Luke's best efforts Leia understandably could never truly forgive Anakin so it seems he keeps his distance from her. Again, sad but understandable.

This does of course beg an interesting question too. We've now seen in different media that Anakin as a spirit has reached out to characters such as Ahsoka, Luke, and Rey when they all needed him. This being the case: where was he for Ben? Did he perhaps try to reach out but in a way that Ben just couldn't understand or listen to? Maybe Anakin mistakenly kept his distance hoping that his grandson would naturally avoid his mistakes on his own. With Anakin having made appearances in more and more sequel era media of late, it'd be interesting to get a clear answer on this someday.

I liked Legacy from the very beginning of the book but as I've reached the second half it is just hitting harder and harder with this perhaps being one of my favorite scenes so far.

Anakin reaching out to Rey is such a poignant moment because he can relate to her struggle more than anyone besides possibly Ben Solo. Created for a grand purpose he didn't understand, raised in a brutal desert, the darkness whispering in his ear from the moment he became a Jedi. Suffice to say Anakin knows what Rey is going through better than most. Anakin of course fell to the darkness when his pivotal moment came so now here he is trying to steer another Jedi away from his own fate. Man, I wish they got Hayden Christensen to film a scene like this for the sequels, he and Daisy would've absolutely crushed it together.

I also liked the sad touch of Anakin's brief compliment to Leia. I think he's clearly proud of his daughter but just knows that he can't appear before her. Despite Luke's best efforts Leia understandably could never truly forgive Anakin so it seems he keeps his distance from her. Again, sad but understandable.

This does of course beg an interesting question too. We've now seen in different media that Anakin as a spirit has reached out to characters such as Ahsoka, Luke, and Rey when they all needed him. This being the case: where was he for Ben? Did he perhaps try to reach out but in a way that Ben just couldn't understand or listen to? Maybe Anakin mistakenly kept his distance hoping that his grandson would naturally avoid his mistakes on his own. With Anakin having made appearances in more and more sequel era media of late, it'd be interesting to get a clear answer on this someday.

Source: Darth Maul by Cullen Bunn

For those unaware Maul and Cad Bane do actually already have canonical history together. Bane was actually present for Maul's very first Jedi hunt although Maul did hide his true capabilities from the bounty hunters he had hired.

Now with Maul as a proper crime lord it'd be interesting to once again have him bring Bane back into the fold. We know from Bad Batch that Bane is taking work from the Empire but I imagine he could come around to working for Maul given both credits and the desire to not have someone as dangerous as Maul as an enemy. Also just imagine the action scenes these two could have together!

Also I imagine Bane would have a snarky comment when/if he sees Maul now has a Twi'lek apprentice given that Eldra Kaitis (the Jedi Maul hunts in this comic) was the same species.

Luke may have made many mistakes in his final years but in the end he motivated both Leia and Rey in exactly the way they needed. The strength they needed was always within them, trying to imitate the Jedi of old or Luke himself is not the correct path. Leia may not have ever been a full Jedi but everything she's endured makes her the exact mentor that Rey truly needed and I think Luke showing her that is beautiful. One final lesson from brother to sister.

Also between this novel and Legacy of Vader it's funny to think of how busy Luke was as a Force ghost between keeping tabs on Rey and Leia and then having Kylo Ren literally bust down death's door to come yell at him, lol.

Almost done with my reread of Darth Vader (2017) and Momin was just such a fun character for what little time we had with him. One of the more unique Sith we have in that he preferred to "create" and be an artist in his own twisted way.

And even though we're given the basics of his backstory in the comic I think there's plenty of room to expand his story into a novel in between the key moments of his life we were already shown. Clearly Momin had an obsession with controlling time itself as evidenced by his disastrous attempt to freeze an apocalypse in place and what we were later shown with the Fermata Cage with Momin having created it for currently unknown purposes, it would be interesting to further dive into this particular fixation of his and how that came about.

Technically they could even do something with him set past the events of Darth Vader since comics such as Lando and New Legacy have shown us that Momin's mask and therefore his spirit survived his defeat by Vader. We already have a couple novels spinning off from this particular comic run (Rise of the Red Blade and Master of Evil) and I could think of no better candidate for a character from that comic deserving of the spotlight than Momin. Though perhaps I shouldn't say that too loudly, he'll hear and never shut up about it, lol.

Was going back through the preview pages we have for Fall of Kylo Ren and wow it just occurred to me just how put through the ringer Hetzal had been over the centuries.

1. Site of the Great Hyperspace Disaster, inciting the entire High Republic storyline. Thankfully Avar Kriss and co. were there to save the day but that's still an apocalyptic level of damage and casualties for sure.

2. Only a couple of years later, Marchion Ro takes the planet as the primary home of him and the Nihil following the establishment of the Occlusion Zone. Beyond the typical crimes expected of the Nihil, Baron Boolan was also based there for a time committing who knows how many horrific experiments with the people of Hetzal likely serving as many of his test subjects.

3. Cut to a couple centuries later and the planet is now under invasion by the First Order. And actually doing not too shabby as far as defending themselves until Kylo Ren himself intervenes to put them down.

Suffice to say Hetzal has been through it and then some. I feel particularly bad for any of the long-lived species there who would've been around to experience the horrors of both the Nihil and First Order. Hopefully after the sequel era they get to chill out for at least a few centuries or so.

"Master Silas", you say? Advising an archivist, you say? Sure sounds like our boy Reath to me! Was not expecting a potential High Republic lore dump in this book but from what little I've read so far Roux has already done an excellent job pulling in elements from other stories across the canon with this being one of the most notable instances thus far. I guess this could indirectly confirm that Reath will survive his fated confrontation with Azlin.

For some clarification this is from one of the Jedi texts recovered by Rey on Ahch-To, likely something Luke picked up from the High Republic era.